Barclays PLC Purchases 135,718 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 74.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 135,718 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.43% of BankUnited worth $12,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BankUnited by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,392,000 after purchasing an additional 181,493 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in BankUnited by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,696,000 after buying an additional 322,368 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,889,000 after acquiring an additional 36,328 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 530,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,266,000 after acquiring an additional 80,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in BankUnited by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 403,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,383,000 after purchasing an additional 74,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

NYSE:BKU opened at $30.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $34.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.41. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.69 and a 52 week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. This is a boost from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. BankUnited's payout ratio is presently 40.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.07 per share, for a total transaction of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,478.74. This represents a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BKU shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on BankUnited from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.18.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.

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